Keep it Up. I Know You Can. Just Keep Following the Heartlines on your hand. ' Cause I Am

Last night, Carrie invited me to an evening of new works at the Soho Theatre, Hub Nights. There was a short comedy, an extended dramedy monologue about real estate and the first scene from an opera about abortion. Carrie and I had lots of fun and the works had some really great moments. But it got me thinking about two things. 


1. How much better the UK is at putting together small showings like this that both are and are not cabaret. In the US, we do a lot of concerts. But less small productions. And there's certainly less subsidizing of it from any larger artistic entity. The actual support for writers here blows New York out of the water. 


2. More than ideas, or even ability to execute, what will separate one writer out from another is the ability to sustain that idea, sustain the level of execution. Five minutes of brilliance vs. the whole fifteen minute play vs. a complete two hour arc. 


Whatever you have to give, if you can float it out longer, keep it going until the end, keep it in the air when the others let it drop, that's often the key. It's certainly the challenge and the key for me at the moment. Luckily, I have good friends like Carrie to help keep things in perspective and to hash it all out over a delicious glass of wine and a cheese plate at Soho House. The vantage point from a plushy couch with a wise and encouraging friend always looks a bit better.